Okay thumbtacks get stuck into particle boards to hold up paper. This is great. I propose making the point on the thumbtack composed of two leads, that invariably hook into a conductive mesh behind the particle board. Upon this connection, a tiny LED inside the transparent thumbtack body lights up.

There are different lights, and you could use this distiction to sort tacked papers on your particle board. It would also make for pretty neat nightlights. Very dorm room trendyish perhaps, and the thumbtacks could also be used for signaling lights in introductory digital logic courses at said colleges.
-- daseva, Aug 05 2005

Clear Thumbtack http://www.istockph...Clear_Thumbtack.jpg
[daseva, Aug 05 2005]

HB archives: "Thumb flash" Thumb_20flash
Related idea but very similar to [normzone]'s comment. [bristolz, Aug 05 2005]

Lite Brite http://www.sfpg.com...mation/instruc.html
insert illuminated pegs into a grid [joeforker, Aug 08 2005]

Can they be programmed to beep and flash after a given period of time? I tend to forget to pay bills pinned up on the corkboard.
-- normzone, Aug 05 2005


<thumb> <sighs>

come back all is forgiven...

well, mostly.
-- po, Aug 05 2005


OOhh... That's good thinking. Perhaps a timer inside the tack that can basically be set to start blinking the day the tack is supposed to be removed.
-- daseva, Aug 05 2005


Yeah! If you had to the "tacks" could even have two points...which is kinda how LEDs already are...there could be a watch battery in the tack as well but then it would be expensive as tacks go.
-- obesemind, Aug 05 2005


Ahh, redundant with [bris]'s link. Though, whose method is better? These two ideas should have a showdown.
-- daseva, Aug 05 2005


OK, who remembers "Lite Brites"?
-- moPuddin, Aug 06 2005


Thumbtack's point is a coax lead; bull. board is two layers of conductive material with cork between. The lead would be pretty thick compared to a reg. thumbtack, but that makes it easier to handle, too.
-- elhigh, Aug 08 2005


Way off topic: who keeps flagging all of these perfectly functional links?
-- half, Aug 08 2005


I don't know [half] - but I've had to unflag a few myself.
-- zen_tom, Aug 08 2005



random, halfbakery